Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is changing the way in which industries provide business services. E-commerce web sites, web portals, and other electronic purchasing systems can automate purchasing transactions and comparison shopping. Typical automated purchasing systems are designed for the purchase of known product configurations and commodity items. For products requiring specialized preparation, testing, handling, and care, or for which unknown factors need to be determined, traditional e-commerce system designed for pre-configured product sales and distribution may be inappropriate. Consequently, improved e-commerce systems able to handle more complex product sales and configuration issues are desired.